Thought experiment on obstruction materials
An experiment in re-organising my existing draft typologies of physical obstructions. Rather then dividing them by how we experience them, I have grouped them by the primary material used which makes it an obstruction. These are some notes on my thinking:
1. I have broadly separated the metal category into Inert and Active/moveable. The latter group are able to change or alter in some way, either manually or by automatic/remote operation.
2. The Tape/fabric category usually depends on the use of metal poles – but not always. The former could be stretched around other objects and still maintain some degree of obstruction-ness.
3. The Printing/paint category recognises the sign, symbol or word/s as the material of the obstruction, rather than that of the object they are on. If the latter was blank, it would not be considered an obstruction in its own right.
4. The Wood category is currently empty, but I will bring in objects from my daily Barriers iteration shortly.
5. The stone/concrete category includes objects cast in composite stone like the anti-sleeping bench featured here.
6. The Planted material category is also currently empty, and but I will bring in hedges and ‘security planting’ from my daily Barriers iteration shortly. The giant Kings Cross planters had to go in the Metal category, for it was the metal that made them obstructions, not the planting.